Stats you need to know: Pacific caught fire at the right time, winning their last four games in the regular season before running through the Big West tournament.

Tendencies: Pacific’s defensive efficiency is nothing to get excited about, but they’ve ramped it up during league play. They were the best defensive team in the Big West, according to Kenpom.

Big wins, bad losses: The Tigers picked up a couple of big wins back in November, when they knocked off St. Mary’s and Xavier in the Anaheim Classic.

How’d they get here?: Pacific knocked off UC-Irvine in the Big West title game to earn the league’s automatic bid.

Outlook: The Tigers don’t necessarily have the look of a team that can pull off an upset or two, but this isn’t any regular team. Pacific is a team of destiny, if you will. This is Thomason’s 25th season as the head coach of Pacific. It’s also his last, as he’s stepping down after the season. It’s also the last season that Pacific will be a member of the Big West as they head to the WCC next year. Is that enough to be this year’s Norfolk State or Lehigh?

How do I know you?: Pacific has been to the tournament four times in Thomason’s tenure, even winning a game in 2004 and 2005.